Every Halloween season there seems to be a contest to see which costume is the most offensive, and this year is no different. Several Halloween costume companies have announced plans to sell variations on a unisex Caitlyn Jenner costume similar to the outfit she wore on the July cover of Vanity Fair, and while Jenner herself does not seem to be bothered by the costume, transgender advocates are not happy about it.

Spirit Halloween’s senior director of marketing, Lisa Barr said, “At Spirit Halloween, we create a wide range of costumes that are often based upon celebrities, public figures, heroes and superheroes We feel that Caitlyn Jenner is all of the above and that she should be celebrated. The Caitlyn Jenner costume reflects just that” (NBC). Caitlyn Jenner herself an advocate and figurehead for the transgender community, does not have a problem with the costume, either, stating in a video interview with Today’s Matt Lauer that she is “in on the joke” and that she thinks “it’s great.” She added, “I don’t think it’s offensive at all… Life’s too short. I can’t get upset by that type of stuff” (Today).

Many in the transgender community, however, are deeply offended by this costume, and with good reason. Vincent Villano of the National Center for Transgender Equality stated, “There’s no tasteful way to ‘celebrate’ Caitlyn Jenner or respect transgender people this way on the one night of the year when people use their most twisted imaginations to pretend to be villains and monsters” (Washington Post).

Addison Vincent, the activist who wrote a petition on Change.org that gained at least 16,704 signatures, stated the following:

“To make a costume out of a marginalized identity reduces that person and community to a stereotype for privileged people to abuse. In this case, if you follow through with production of a Caitlyn Jenner costume, cisgender people will purchase it to make fun of her and our community.”

The people who will wear this costume will not wear it to honor Caitlyn Jenner nor transgender people, but rather to mock and make fun of them.

Caitlyn Jenner should not think the costume “great” nor claim to be “in on the joke,” because more lives than her own are affected by this costume. Even if she is not offended personally, she should be offended for the community which she represents. Trans people are not costumes, and by deeming the costume “great” she is deeming its transphobia great, too. The transgender community still faces discrimination in the workplace, medically and with healthcare providers, and often at home from family or friends. Because of this, transgender people face lives more difficult than most other groups of people, and for too many of them, life really is too short.

Transgender people are twice as likely to be unemployed, four times more likely to live in extreme poverty, and 13 transgender women have been killed this year because of their gender identity. According to a study done by the Williams Institute on suicide rates of transgender people, “The prevalence of suicide attempts among respondents… is 41 percent, which vastly exceeds the 4.6 percent of the overall U.S. population…, and is also higher than the 10-20 percent of lesbian, gay and bisexual adults who report ever attempting suicide” (CNN). These statistics are serious and should not be taken lightly. Changes need to be made to the resources offered to the transgender community to help lower these statistics, but a costume mocking the community is being made instead.

The experience that Caitlyn Jenner had when she came out as transgender is not the experience that most transgender people have. By making this costume, the companies are making a joke about the struggles that transgender people face, and by saying that it is not offensive, Jenner is allowing transphobic ideologies to be perceived as humorous.